Burning Bright
by mimma
Summary: The universe in which Kagami is a girl, in the style of Miracles. Assorted ficlets.
1. Chapter 1

Burning Bright: the universe in which Kagami Taiga is a girl and no one else, rather in the vein of Miracles, if you've read that. Assorted ficlets. Not chronological. Ongoing.

v.

Taiga slammed the ball through the hoop and turned to laugh at Kuroko, her face shining with joy and energy, and he'd once thought she was going to be a light and he wanted to be her shadow, but he- he-

She brushed her hair back from her face, and Kuroko thought about being the one to slide his fingers through her hair instead, of touching her face and pulling her down towards him, of how her face would change and her eyes would flutter and-

And then he thought, quite distinctly, _damn_.

iv.

When they got back from their run along the beach Taiga stretched her arms over her head and grumbled, "Gotta bathe again. Screw Midorima, seriously."

Kuroko said nothing, which had the effect of reminding Taiga that technically they did indeed both owe him, and making her more grumpy.

She slipped her hands under her shirt and stripped it off, wiping sweat from her neck and forehead.

"-" said Kuroko, watching her muscles flex under her skin, the strong line of her back curving into her shorts, her chest under the thick material a daring, heaving promise-

"Dry your hair properly before you sleep," she said, and disappeared into the portion of the room she shared with Coach.

iii.

Kuroko may never hate anyone like he hates the way Himuro-san says _Taiga_ confidently and familiarly, like he's holding her on the end of the leash that is her name, with that casual air of command and affection.

He is wrong: Kagami-san curls into her seat in the bus afterwards with her knees pulled up to her chest, and stares out the window with her hand on their history.

He passes her his waterbottle and she drinks.

ii.

"Dude," said Aomine. "If _you're_ not going to eat her chocolate-"

Kuroko smashed his bookbag onto Aomine-kun's thieving hands, and then stood above him threateningly.

"I can't believe you choked down Satsuki's but you won't eat her chocolates just because she made the same one for all of us," said Aomine.

"Shut up," suggested Kuroko mildly.

"Even Midorima got one," said Aomine, who was privy to all Satsuki's late-night quasi-maniacal rants. "She even packed off some to Akashi and Yousen. You know, that ex of hers."

"Shut," said Kuroko, even more mildly, "Up."

"You should start thinking about White Day, probably," said Aomine. "Don't want him to show you up."

He dodged the dictionary just in time.

i.

"Kuroko WHAT ARE YOU DOING HERE," yelled Taiga, when after fifteen toe-tapping minutes she thought to look sideways, and there he was.

"Kagami-san is here," he said, and looked up at her in that way he had, flat, and yet considering.

"Well, yeah," she said, and flapped an envelope in her hand. "I wanted to ask you about this, a letter came in my shoebox. Momoi-chan said it was a love letter when I mailed her, but-"

"But?" said Kuroko.

Taiga shrugged her shoulders and looked down at Kuroko. "I don't- get love letters," she said. "I got a letter of challenge once," she added. "I… punched him out."

"Did you read the letter?" said Kuroko. "That seems like it would prove conclusive."

"…some of the kanji is really hard," said Taiga, and when Kuroko turned around to thunk his head against the wall, punched him in the shoulder. "SHUT UP," she said. "If it was kana I could have read it."

"Did you ask anyone to help you read it?" he said.

"I was going to ask you," she said. "But I couldn't find you before I had to come here." She turned her head, disgruntled. "I think he's late."

"At least you could read that," said Kuroko, and took the envelope from her fingers.

Taiga couldn't look at him reading her- ugh, _really_?- love letter, and kicked dust around with her sneakers. Man, Kuroko was going to laugh at her, in his sneaky way. Tatsuya would probably have laughed. Tatsuya would never have sent her anything like-

"Kagami Taiga-san," read Kuroko, then paused.

"I could read _my name_, asshole," snarled Taiga.

"I have always admired your spirit and strength of character," continued Kuroko. "Your enthusiasm for basketball and life has given my life new meaning and colour."

Taiga felt like curling up with embarrassment. And Kuroko was reading this, _Kuroko_, in his serious voice. She couldn't look at him.

"I offered to be the shadow to your light when we first met," said Kuroko, "I would like to ask you to consider my feelings behind the clubroom at-"

"Oh, come on," said Taiga. "That's not what it really says, you're just making it up-" She turned to snatch the letter from Kuroko's hands, but he really wasn't reading from the letter at all, just holding it lightly between his hands, and- wait, how had he known what it had said at the beginning, then, if he hadn't been- oh.

"I think," said Kuroko mildly, pointing at his name on a corner of the envelope, "I remember what I wrote."

"Oh," said Taiga again, and looked at Kuroko.

He looked at her and smiled a little, like he couldn't help it, that little Kuroko-smile that was rare and soft and true. "I'm not late," he said, and Taiga felt herself begin to blush.


	2. Chapter 2

Taiga and Alex, back in America.

"Oh, sweetie," said Alex, and dabbed at Taiga's eye with a beer can fresh from the cooler, pulling her hair back from her face with Taiga cuddled on her lap.

"I should never have taught you how to fight," said Tatsuya, peering into her face. A little further away, their usual crowd made awestruck catcalls as Taiga gave them the finger.

"'S just a black eye," said Taiga. "You should see the other guys."

Tatsuya's lip curled, _guys, _and Taiga's new middle school not taking well to a girl nearing five feet eight at twelve, and he _didn't like this_, he wasn't done getting over being her big brother.

"There, there," Alex said. "I'll give you something to cover it up a little, and we'll keep the pressure on, and you'll be good as new in a few days." She smacked Taiga on the back. "You gave them hell, though, right?"

"Right," said Taiga, and smiled, wincing around her sore lip.

"That's my girl," said Alex.

Alex worked steadily on Taiga's face until Tatsuya, in the way of thirteen year old boys, got bored and muscled his way into a pickup game. "Well?" said Alex, applying the powder in short, sharp strokes, showing her how it was done in the mirror.

"No one plays worth a damn in my new school," said Taiga. She cast covert glances at Alex's full makeup pouch. Her hair was growing out, becoming longer. "I played with the boys."

"Ha," said Alex, shaking her head. "You kids." She didn't say anything after that. That was the thing about Alex, about Tatsuya; they understood the sense of raging fire, of seeking steel. Taiga watched Tatsuya playing with the others on their precious weekends with Alex, her precious weekends with him, and thought about his basketball, better and better and brightest.

"Aaand- pout, Taiga," said Alex, then painted colour on the younger girl while Taiga did, quick pink strokes. "There you go," she said, and then sent her precious student off.

Tatsuya did double-take when he saw her, looking at herself in a chrome surface. "Pretty much?" he said, smiled.

Taiga thought again about how much she loved him, how Alex's hands had moved on her face swift and sure, how she didn't want anything more than this, this everything. "Gives you something to pretend distracted you now that the eye's hidden," sneered Taiga.

Tatsuya gleamed at her, bouncing the ball. "We'll see."


	3. Chapter 3

Takes place during the training camp.

"Oh," said Taiga, skidding behind the gym. "_Fuck_."

"What?" said Midorima. "That's not language a young lady should-"

"What's up?" said Takao hurriedly, heading off the fiftieth permutation of _that_ argument.

"My knot's come out," said Taiga, crossing her arms over her chest. "_Shit_."

"I'm not capable of deciphering that comment," said Takao. "My little sister is only in Junior High."

She scowled at him. "I've got a bikini under," she said. "The knot came out."

"Sexy," said Takao, as Midorima had a heart attack.

"Shut up, we do water resistance training," said Taiga. "And it's hot. Damn, usually I get Coach to- Hey, reach under and help me get it."

"_WHAT_," echoed Midorima's outraged shriek.

Taiga stood to the wall, glared at them, "EYES BACK," she said, lifting her huge t-shirt and rummaging. "That's- ugh- okay, got them. One of you come here and help me tie these. I need it really tight."

"_Takao not one step_," snarled Midorima. "You- go find your Coach and do it! Don't ask boys to- to-"

"Do you see Coach _around_?" demanded Taiga. "And do you think I want to walk out there into the middle of both our teams clutching my chest? _Do you_?"

"Yeah, that's a good point," said Takao. "Shin-chan, you do it."

"What," said Midorima. Taiga cast him a dubious look and Takao a glare.

"My hands are dirty," said Takao. "I threw up, that's why I'm back here."

"Why did you throw up?" said Taiga.

"Because _basketball_," said Takao. "Seriously, though, I came back here to wash my hands. And- rinse my mouth. But there's no soap around, so. You don't want me touching you."

"Fine," said Taiga. "Midorima, get over here."

"No!" he said.

"You can't catch cooties from touching a girl!" said Taiga. "Do you want me to walk into a gym full of boys looking like I'm fondling myself? GET OVER HERE AND TIE THE DAMN KNOT."

"Shin-chan," said Takao. "C'mon. We've all got to get back to practice. Don't waste time."

Taiga glared at him, but he only grinned at her, immune. By now she'd hiked up the shirt, revealing the dips and curves of her waist, her shorts clinging to her hips, the bright band of her bikini bottoms peeking out. In her hands she'd collected the two strings, and held them behind her back. As he took them, she pulled the shirt a little higher so he could see, gathering up her long ponytail as well. She probably smelled, now that she thought about it; beads of sweat dried on her skin in the heat, and they'd been at practice since morning. Whatever. The boys stunk way worse.

"This is highly improper," said Midorima.

"Shut it and tie it _tight_," said Taiga. "If you do it too tight, though, I _am_ going to go over to your side and make you unpick it. I like this one."

"Ooo lah lah," said Takao.

"SHUT UP," they both yelled. Takao sniggered, but subsided.

Midorima touched her accidentally, and flinched away at her sharp intake of breath.

"H-hurry up," she said.

"You wanted it done, I'll do it right," snapped Midorima.

"Is he tying a bow," said Taiga.

"It does in fact look like a perfect bow," said Takao.

Midorima lined up the strings before he tied them, carefully, exactly- Taiga couldn't see, but it made sense that Midorima would be as fussy over this as anything else, as careful and precise. She looked over her shoulder at his intent face, and thought about his long fingers on her back-

"Done," he said, and ran his fingers down the long trailing string, dangling all the way to the small of her back.

"Thanks," said Taiga, rolling down her shirt and looking up at him, touching her hair self-consciously and mentally hating Midorima for being a pretty, pretty freak of nature.

"Kagami-san," said Kuroko.

"GAH," she said, jumping forward into Midorima and then just as quickly back, hands curling into his chest for a single long glorious moment. "Augh how long have you been there," she said.

"Since about the time you lifted your shirt," said Takao helpfully.

"…I'm going to go back to practice," said Taiga, and began to lope off. "YOU SAW NOTHING," she called over her shoulder.

"…there was nothing to see," said Midorima to Kuroko.

Kuroko frowned a little at him, and said, "Your coach says you two can take fifty laps for taking too long."


	4. Chapter 4

The brotp of Aomine and Taiga.

"We have the same shoe size?" said Aomine, looking down at Taiga's massive boats as she gave Kuroko her jacket and walked out into the court with him, pumped, raring. Damn, Kise was going to get a good fight. Stupid Kise. Aomine was about to make it better.

"What?" she said. "So I'm a freak of nature. Shut up."

Aomine shrugged. "First ball."

.0.

"Is that a skirt?" said Aomine, while Tetsu and Momoi confabulated over in the corner. "I thought we were going to play ball later."

"Skort," said Taiga and lifted an edge. "See, it's a skirt _and_ shorts."

Aomine rolled his eyes up to the ceiling. Clothes talk. Like he didn't get enough of that from Satsuki.

.0.

"Satsuki's next door," said Aomine. "Shoes 're this way."

"'kay," said Taiga, toeing off her sneakers and murmuring _ojama-shimasu_, following Aomine soft on padded feet.

.0.

He held her bag over his shoulder and stared off into the distance with practiced ease.

"Done," said Taiga, stowing the smaller bag with her school uniform in it, and pulled her hair out from under the collar. "You not changing?"

"I don't need to change out of my uniform for you," he said, and walked on with both their bags still over his shoulder.

.0.

"Let's get something to eat," he said.

"My place?" she said. "It's close."

Aomine blinked at her long and slow. "No," he said.

She shrugged. "Your treat, then."

He didn't think about it. "Okay."

.0.

_I want to play basketball_ she mails him, during a rare study break. Bakagami-tutoring-time is in full force, and Taiga has not been allowed to sleep in two days.

_Yeah_, he replies.

.0.

There's a long complicated list of reasons Aomine should probably not go to Taiga's place alone, and all of them are her, playing matches like her heart is breaking, prickly about her cooking as Satsuki can get.

"We'll play after," she offers him, like a bribe. He's pretty sure she does think she's playing chaperone to him, that Satsuki has pretended it is _him_ who needs looking after.

He doesn't take long to consider it. "Yeah," he said, and steered her though the crowd with an arm to her back.


	5. Chapter 5

You're warned: Dick Jokes.

They were safe in the bus heading back to school when Taiga, clearly struggling out of moroseness, said "Man, I guess they loaded you guys up on the pretty pills at Teikou, huh?"

Kuroko turned his head to look at her.

"It's like your whole team was good-looking," she said, and looking out the window, seeing it again, him again, Tatsuya, older, immeasurably older in a way she would never understand, and still beautiful. His basketball, still so beautiful.

"I concede that Kise-kun is heartbreakingly beautiful," said Kuroko, and had he been thinking too, of the hand that had descended on him, the history settling into their bones? "But the rest of us, no, I would hardly say so."

"Well, Midorima," said Taiga. "I mean, he's a weirdo, but you know. He doesn't have a bad face."

"Is this girl talk," said Kiyoshi interestedly. "Are we having girl talk?"

"We could have guy talk," said Taiga. "Kuroko's ex-girlfriend, hot?"

"Mega-hot," sighed Fukuda.

"There you go," said Taiga.

"_Midorima_?" said Furihata. "Seriously though, _Midorima_."

"Tall," said Taiga. "And, you know. He's got those shoulders. He's muscly. I don't meet that many guys outright bigger than me. You're awfully skinny as a whole." She looked out the window and then back in. "Glasses."

Kuroko looked down at his arm. Flexing produced a very satisfactory ripple, but not much else.

Taiga continued. "I said Kise, already, and Kuroko's not that bad, and Murasakibara could do with a haircut, but you know, and Aomine..."

"Aomine-kun?" said Kuroko, saving up a better time to pick 'not that bad' out of his ego.

"Well, he's hot," she said, shrugged. The other two first-years made noises of betrayal. "HE IS," she said, and scowled at them, throwing herself back into the seat and making it shake. "Tall, muscles, and his basketball. My god his basketball.

"Not-" she said. "Not that it stops him being an _enormous dick_, but I'm just saying. I see it. Smoking hot."

There was a long moment as everyone contemplated the muscled litheness of Aomine's limbs, the breadth of his shoulders, the way he moved on the court, somewhere between lightning-strike and blinding sunlight-

"...I don't see how you could possibly know that," said Kiyoshi, puzzled.

There was another long moment as everyone worked this out, and then everyone groaned.

"_Oh my god_," said Taiga, face scarlet. "Kiyoshi-sempai, _oh my god_."

"That's what she said," murmured Kuroko, before adroitly spilling Nigou into Taiga's lap.


	6. Chapter 6

Even with everyone in her house, Taiga could not help but want to shower as quickly as she could, and since Coach was _already_ cooking, there wasn't much she could do to help. (And maybe if she took a bit longer, they'd already have eaten most of it by the time she came out-)

She put on camisole and underwear, shirt and sweater and sweatpants and socks and jacket, and came out to Kuroko pulling a banana from the crockpot (usually her soup bowl) as everyone stared. She sighed. Time to face the music.

"I hate the cold," she said to his inquiring look. "It never snowed in L.A. I'm still not used to it." How Alex stood it, she had no idea. Alex barely believed in underwear. She certainly did not believe in outerwear.

Kuroko looked her over and tried to count layers, mentally, before he realized what he was doing, and stopped himself from doing it. Kagami-san wasn't shy in the least. However, anything that compelled her to realize that she was far too unguarded and casual, that she was a girl and that she'd even more casually invited their entire team _into her home_, was surely for the best.

Her toes curled in their socks, close to his bare feet. She reached to refill her mug with tea, and her hair still loose and smelling of her shampoo slid off her back almost into his face, until her body was almost in his lap.

_Far_ too unguarded.

Taiga felt, suddenly, overdressed.

(The sensation that someone is mentally undressing you.)


	7. Chapter 7

"What the hell are you guys doing?" said Aomine, standing with his hands in his pockets watching two large boys and Tetsu and Satsuki trying to hide behind a planter. Murasakibara was actually sitting on the edge of the planter, munching. Aomine did not have to turn to know that Akashi was approaching, ready to level his stare of 'I am disappointed in this underhanded and ungentlemanly behavior and shame on you all' at them.

"Dai-chan, get down!" hissed Satsuki. "Tai-chan is- is- oh, poor Tai-chan!"

"Kagamichi," said Kise, in much the same tones. "Kagamichiiii."

Aomine did not 'get down'. "You're all idiots," he said. "What's up with Kagami?"

"Muro-chin is talking to her," said Murasakibara, helpfully.

"What, the ex-boyfriend?" said Aomine.

"They were never dating," Satsuki said. "She was just- he was just her first love back in America, that's all!"

Kuroko said nothing, only shifted his position slightly for a better look. Midorima, next to him, shoved his glasses up his nose and muttered something Aomine did not bother to decipher.

"Shintarou," said Akashi disapprovingly. He clearly had had no such trouble. "Is that any excuse to spy on Kagami Taiga? Ryouta? Tetsuya?"

"But she looks like she's going to be sad," said Kise, peering through the bush.

"Nevertheless," said Akashi.

"Muro-chin looks sad," said Murasakibara.

Kuroko's expression darkened. Aomine imagined the flood of Tetsu's thoughts, and privately wished that Yousen dude all the best. Kagami didn't need protecting, not that you could tell these weirdos that.

"He's touching her face!" hissed Momoi in semi-horror, and Aomine turned around and walked off before he could get further entangled.

Anyway, you could get a better view of those benches coming from the south side.

(A secret meeting of people who are hatching a plot.)


	8. Chapter 8

"I still think it's sad Riko-san didn't want to make chocolates with us," said Momoi, tasting a little melted chocolate off the spoon she held, a picture-perfect little domestic girl, apron tied around her waist and cloth tied over her hair.

Taiga, dressed in her own, much less cute apron, muttered something; anything was better than repeating Coach's comprehensive reply to Momoi's cheerful text message, with had started with _how did she get my num_- and ended with Taiga having to promise to her sempais that she would never mention making chocolate in Riko's hearing again.

"They turned out… okay…" she said, surveying the fruits of their labour. The chocolates of their labour. Taiga had made an executive decision and divided the work, so that it had been Momoi who crinkled little sheets of waxed paper and twisted wire ties closed around tiny packets. The one Momoi intended for Kuroko was about the size of a fist and lavishly decorated, and she'd done less elaborate decorations for special ones intended for specific people. Taiga had declined to personalize her chocolates, instead, she now had over two dozen identical little sparkly bags of truffles, and found herself, much to her disgust, having to earmark some for the biggest jerks she knew, only because Momoi teared up and looked sad when she thought about them being left out.

"It's my first time doing anything so pretty," she said, and fingered the tiny bags. "I just like to think of them having the chocolates, even if it's just courtesy."

"You're not actually going to courier that all the way to Kyoto, are you?" said Taiga, trying to make a mental list and wondering if she could just pretend they were her own gifts to herself.

"I'll leave it at Akashi-kun's house here," Momoi said. "They'll send it up to him for tomorrow, and while they're at it they'll deliver to Yousen and Mukkun too." She smiled at Taiga. "Won't that be a nice surprise for Himuro-san?"

Taiga snorted. "Big surprise, yeah," she said. "There's no way he'd expect anything so girly from me."

"Why shouldn't he?" said Momoi. "You're a girl."

Taiga studied the one she was getting ready to pack up with Momoi's to send off. "I know," she said, and she did know. She thought maybe Tatsuya knew that too, had known the first time when she'd walked up to him, known when he'd fastened the ring around her neck, known when they'd been talking after the Winter Cup, and he'd reached out to tuck her hair behind her ear. Suddenly she wished that she'd done some decorating too, besides scrawling his name on the side in red marker. She darted a look at the pile she'd set in the corner; maybe she could do something to-

Momoi's phone rang, and Taiga let go of the impulse. They'd have to take what they could get and be _grateful_ for it.

"We're already cleaned everything up," said Momoi into her phone; Taiga could hear Aomine growling on the other end, whining on the other end. "There's nothing left for you to eat. You- what? Yes, of course I'm coming home for dinner, Dai-chan, did you- no, I didn't _ruin _them, you're horrible!" Her head whipped around. "Tai-chan- we'll meet again tomorrow, okay? We'll all exchange chocolates then!" By that she meant _bring Tetsu-kun so I can give him a symbol of my enduring love_, but Taiga was used to that, and waved her off without a sigh.

.0.

The next day was Valentine's Day, and Taiga was relieved to see that Coach hadn't tried to do anything like homemade chocolates (Momoi's proposal had been more of an ambush than a plan) and instead had very simple sugar cookies out for them after practice, a special tripled practice, to work off all the chocolates they would no doubt receive. The entire team congratulated Mitobe-sempai on the cookies, but ooohed when Taiga passed out her chocolates, clutching them to their chests with tears flowing down their cheeks. She passed one to Coach and one from Momoi, too, which Riko eyed somewhat truculently before she sighed and told Taiga to pass on her thanks.

Kuroko thanked her for his share, politely. Taiga ate some of the cookies and looked at the shrines of chocolate some of them were building. Izuki-sempai's was the largest by far, but Kiyoshi's was a fair amount. After winning the Winter Cup, Seirin's basketball team was popular, or something like it. Even the first-years collected neat little stacks.

.0.

Momoi had an entire presentation ceremony to give hers to Kuroko, and unsurprisingly Aomine had tagged along behind her with his bag stuffed with chocolate as well, though after seeing Kise's haul- before he'd run back into hiding so as not to be engulfed in a massive fangirl wave- Taiga felt she was never going to be impressed by a mountain of chocolate ever again.

"You made these, right?" Aomine demanded. "They're safe to eat? Where's mine?"

"Didn't Momoi already give you hers?" said Taiga.

Aomine sighed and showed her his from Momoi; rather pointedly she'd drawn a whole line of Touou jerseys and decorated with sports shoe logos in gel paint. "Now you," he said.

"What makes you think I have any for you?" said Taiga, annoyed.

"Satsuki wouldn't have let you get away with it," said Aomine, and eyed her. "I bet you gave one to Tetsu."

"Maybe I'm out," said Taiga. "And of course I gave one to Kuroko, he's my teammate."

"No you're not," said Aomine; he looked at Kuroko accepting his chocolate from Momoi under his eyelashes, and back at Taiga.

"Fine," said Taiga, and dumped the one she liked the least into Aomine's stash. He made a pleased noise and opened it to start eating.

"Alright, these aren't awful," he announced, his mouth full. "Satsuki's will be safe to eat too."

"You don't deserve our chocolates," Taiga told him, disgusted. In answer, he just popped another one into his mouth and chewed noisily.

Momoi floated back over to them on a cloud of joy, and Kuroko tucked her gift to him away. He looked down at Aomine's overflowing mouth in judgement.

To Taiga's surprise, Momoi whipped out one of the chocolates from her bag, and pressed it into Taiga's hands, smiling and laughing, and she said, "Tai-chan- for you! You helped me so much, and I had so much fun making! I've never-" she said, and looked down at Taiga, eyes sparkling, "I've never had someone to make homemade chocolates with before. Thank you so much."

Taiga took the bag and fished out one of her own to give to Momoi, who took it and then promptly engaged in a battle royale with Aomine over if he could just steal Tai-chan's chocolates from her when he already had his own. Momoi had gotten edible basketball decals from who knew where, and drawn a Seirin jersey. Valentine's Day wasn't a _thing_ for Taiga the way it had been for her classmates in junior high, the way it was for Momoi, and a year ago she hadn't seen the point of going through all that just for guy who might not even know you liked him, just so you could giggle and coo and boys could strut through the halls with their arms laden down with their popularity.

(Momoi took one from Aomine's open bag, and when he protested stuck her tongue out at him. Kuroko stole one as well, letting it melt on his tongue, and looked at the bag: the same for all of them.)

Just because she now had a dozen, two dozen people to give chocolates to, and at least one to receive them from, and- someone she wanted to give chocolates to, someone who might not even know she liked him.

"Momoi," Taiga said, and then stopped, and turned scarlet, her blush heating up her skin, "Do- do you know where Shuutoku is?"

.0.

Taiga stood blowing into her hands on the route that Takao and Midorima customarily took to get to the station (making a mental to note to never ask Momoi to use her powers for evil). Midorima's bespectacled head was easily recognizable from far away, and next to him Takao wheeled the rickshaw, filled with what looked like the haul of all the regulars combined. Taiga was cold. She'd pulled Seirin's jersey over the school sweater, and still she shivered in the evening chill. She rubbed her bare knees against each other and steeled herself.

It was Takao who first noticed her, though how the hell you could overlook a girl almost two meters tall was beyond him. His elbow shot out immediately and jabbed Midorima in the ribs repeatedly as he struggled for speech.

"Hi," said Taiga.

"What are you doing here?" said Midorima. It was the first time he'd seen Seirin's Kagami in her school uniform. Her hair was the same familiar ponytail, and the Seirin jersey was unmistakable, but Taiga wore her skirt _very_ short, and her long bare legs in their sneakers- looked cold. Midorima wrenched his gaze away, pushing up his glasses as Takao leered at him and Taiga indiscriminately.

She dug in her bag and pulled out her hard-made chocolates. The rest of Shuutoku's regulars gaped unattractively as she held out the sparkly little bag to Midorima. Takao made a noise like someone slipping on worn-out practice shoes.

"I had- I have some left over," she said, not meeting his eyes. "I made them with Momoi," she explained, and at the look of momentary horror on Midorima's face said, "It's alright, even Aomine ate them."

"You gave those to other men?" said Takao, shaking his head sadly. "Oh, Kagami."

"I made a lot," she said, as though she was already tired of saying it. "You guys too- er, I mean if you want them, and, um, thank you for- the past year." She waved her hand sort of vaguely as she said this, and meant, _for the camp, for the matches, for being rivals and for being friends_. Shuutoku's lineup wasn't going to be the same without them.

"Oh, man," announced Takao to the winter air. "We're chopped liver. Look how much Shin-chan got, Kagami, isn't it sickening?"

"Shut up, Takao," said Midorima, still gripping his gift from Taiga.

Ootsubo accepted his gracefully, and said "Are you cold? You must have been waiting for a bit."

"I don't like cold," said Taiga, which she figured was a better thing to say than _I'm freezing my tits off_. "I just- well, I sent off some to Yousen and Momoi sent something to Akashi, too, so- that's just for you guys." She coughed. "Anyway, that's the last of them, so I guess- happy Valentine's Day, see you guys whenever."

"Thank you for the chocolates," said Midorima, stiffly. She waved to them and set off, towards the train station, while all of the other regulars turned their heads and stared at Midorima, who flushed under their gazes. "What?"

"She came all the way to give it to you in person," said Takao. "In the cold. From Seirin. On Valentine's Day. Shin-chan, are you an idiot? _Go after her._"


	9. Chapter 9

They took over two benches in the park and sat luxuriating in the March sun, eating takeout yakisoba and, in the case of the girls, chatting happily about basketball. Aomine and Kuroko just ate at each other in companionable silence, and listened in.

"Ooo, and Tai-chan," said Momoi, passing over the bag Aomine had been carrying, a huge bulging thing. "They didn't know your home address, so I have all your White Day return gifts here."

"Oh, yeah," said Taiga, and looked in it. She and Momoi had exchanged chocolates on Valentine's itself, but she was actually kind of impressed that there was anything at all from the guys, most of whom she'd made chocolate for just because Momoi had been so very careful about including them in her own batches. Tatsuya- who else, but Tatsuya- had enclosed Reese's Pieces, the huge kind two to a pack, and a whole pack of those. One for him and one for her, like they'd used to share them. She touched the familiar orange packaging. She hadn't had any of these in years. Boys like Tatsuya should have been _outlawed_. There was no note, but she hadn't expected any, and there wasn't anything on the Pocky assortment taped together, either. She'd never seen these flavours in stores. That was cool. Taiga was amazed someone had managed to pry these out of Murasakibara's hands to even send in return.

"This must be from Akashi," said Taiga. She paused as she lifted the pretty little box, elegant and well-crafted, wrapped in waxed paper. "What is it?"

"Some frou-frou stuff from Kyoto," said Aomine, with accuracy.

"Yatsuhashi from-" Momoi peered over Taiga's arm. "Ooo, that's very famous shop, Tai-chan. They're delicious!"

"Oh, he didn't put his name down," said Taiga. "But there are three boxes." She frowned at it. "Is that right?"

"He is used to purchasing for Murasakibara-kun's appetite," said Kuroko. So that had been what the mail was about.

"If he didn't put his name down, how did you know it was from _Akashi," _said Aomine.

"Five pages of thank-you note," said Taiga. "And- eating instructions and short summary of the history of- I can't read this. What did you get me?"

"What makes you think I got you anything?" said Aomine. Momoi smacked his arm, which produced a mild _poof_ noise, and nothing else. His jacket didn't even dent.

"Of course he got you something," said Momoi. "_Didn't you_, Dai-chan."

Aomine shifted. "It's in the bag," he said. "Block of cooking chocolate. Biggest they had. It was on sale."

"Cool," said Taiga. "Thanks."

"At least it wasn't coupons," Momoi sighed.

"Coupons?" said Taiga.

"You don't get coupons," said Aomine. "You've only been around a year and you take my basketball shoes. You gotta do more than that to upgrade to coupons."

"Kagami-san is not missing much," said Kuroko.

"Fuck you you love my coupons," said Aomine.

"If that's what you want to call it," said Kuroko.

"Godiva from Kise," said Taiga. Bowing to _his_ knowledge of Taiga's eating habits, Kise had gotten the largest box they had. Both Aomine's and Kuroko's expressions flatlined at the same time.

"Midorin didn't give his to me," said Momoi. Her smile sparkled. "I think he wants to give his to you in person."

"Oh," said Taiga. She ducked her neck into her scarf. "Well, I gave him his in person, so-"

"Oh, _wow_," sneered Aomine, for no reason that Taiga could see. "He gets loads, you know. He always has."

"It filled up the rickshaw," said Taiga. "Midorima had to get out and walk, there wasn't room. Takao only had like one bag. Anyway," she said. "These are great! All great. I wasn't expecting anything." Kuroko had already given her a solid Nigou-sized block of chocolate. Nigou-shaped, too. Taiga had just shuddered, and reminded him that chocolate couldn't bite anyone.


	10. Chapter 10

This time Midorima was the one waiting for her, having prudently ditched Takao in order to minimize the pointing and laughing (though he had been assured that there was much, much more to come), and he stared leadenly into the distance while Seirin students fluttered past him, audibly wondering why a student from an elite school was standing there and who he could possibly be waiting for, and why he carried a clear bag with a whole gingerbread house in it. Conversation died away as that one really really tall freshman girl who had joined the boys basketball team who had made such a fuss at morning assembly and had won national champions this year walked up to him- and he was tall, too, just taller than her, and did he play basketball too? Was this the quality of boys in the sport from other schools? And standing next to him, she really did look way more like a girl, looking that little way up into his face, against the breadth of his shoulders and-

"Let's...walk," said Taiga, and quickly ushered Midorima off to before it could flash all over the entire school and to Captain's ears that their ace was meeting a boy at the train station in full view of way too many students from her school.

Midorima quickly complied. All day long, he had been watched like a hawk by women, even though he had accepted only the chocolates with no love confession attached. It was exhausting.

"It was conveyed to me that a small token of returned- respect- would be appropriate," said Midorima, staring into the middle distance.

"Y-yeah!" said Taiga, watching the wind ruffle leaves. "The other- gu- I mean the others, they got me stuff too."

"Oh," said Midorima. "-what others?"

"Oh," said Taiga. "The jerks. Er, Kuroko. Tatsuya. All the jerks." Except one. She peeked at him. She didn't know why Midorima, out of all them, had forgone giving his basically obligatory return present to Momoi and instead insisted on giving to her in person. She shouldn't even have given him _his_ in person. Why had she even done that? All she'd walked away with from that encounter was a scarf she couldn't wear anyway because she'd taken it to school during that week and Kuroko had recognised it on sight and so had Momoi, and that had been _weird_. They hadn't even _talked_. All they'd done was walk in awkward, freezing silence, just like they were doing now.

"I-" he said, "I have- Ootsubo-san sent this along for you. In thanks for the chocolate, he said."

Taiga opened the bag and drew out long, _knitted_ woolen socks in both black (three pairs) and the Seirin colours, unfolding in her grip. She held one against her leg and it was long, way longer than any socks Taiga had ever managed to find in Japan or anywhere, well above her knees.

"Woah," she said. "Seriously?" She sat down on the first bench they came to to put them on.

Midorima, mouth dry, watched her draw the material up her thigh. He couldn't help noticing that long as the socks were, they still did not quite reach the hem of her skirt, leaving a strip of golden skin.

"Wow these are really nice," said Taiga, holding out her one socked leg and flexing it. "Where'd he get them?" She looked up. "Midorima?"

Midorima snapped back to reality. "He made them," he said. "Ootsubo-san knits for relaxation and to keep his fingers limber. He says he noticed you were cold."

Taiga waited for the inevitable jerkass lecture full of Midorima's patented blend of concern and condescension. She was not disappointed.

"If having your legs bare makes you feel cold, you should cover them up," said Midorima stiffly.

"Stockings are a pain to wear, that's all," said Taiga. She snapped the top of the sock against her skin- wow that was a strong elastic- and Midorima twitched all over.

"You could wear a longer skirt," said Midorima, manfully striding on as Taiga put on a second sock, wiggling her bare toes in the cold air for a second. "Or pants. You could wear a jersey under your skirt."

"Mine gets sweaty after practice," she informed him. "I wear running shorts all the time anyway, so that's none of your business."

"You could wear a longer skirt," said Midorima, obstinately. "If you did you wouldn't be cold."

"These are just as good," said Taiga mulishly right back at him. "They're nice and warm."

She stood up and brushed down her skirt. "Anyway, shows what _you_ know," said Taiga. "The wind gets in even if the skirt's long. You've never worn one, so don't talk about things you don't understand. I really like these. I should thank him for them."

Midorima muttered under his breath. Oha-Asa had predicted great trials for him today, but at no point had she mentioned anything about a miniskirted Kagami Taiga dressing her bare legs in she had, Midorima might have just stayed home sick today.

"What did you say?" said Taiga.

"I said I _have_ worn a skirt," said Midorima. "We all have. It was part of our- I mean, Teikou's hazing to become a regular." He paused. "It was very cold and strange."

Taiga stopped and stared, and then creased up and started laughing. "_All_ of you?" she said, as the full hilarity of the conversation dawned on her.

"Yes," said Midorima. "- it's not funny!"

"Oh, it's very funny," said Taiga. "I bet Momoi has those pictures."

"She swore she destroyed them," said Midorima, squaring his shoulders and trying to huff away.

"I bet she didn't," said Taiga, following him. "I bet she'll show them to me."

"She wouldn't dare," said Midorima. "Don't _ask_!"

"I should ask right now," said Taiga, pulling out her phone and skipping out of reach, still laughing.

"We only had to shout from the roof to join the team, Teikou must have been _weird_."

"It's not any weirder than having to do something like that," said Midorima, stung.

"Yes it is," said Taiga. "Who are you to talk about weird, anyway. You're carrying a gingerbread house."

"It's not _mine_," said Midorima, before he remembered that he'd had a completely different script for this and _damn Kagami Taiga_.

"What," said Taiga. "It's _not_ today's lucky item?"

Wordlessly, Midorima displayed a multicoloured friendship bracelet tied around his wrist.

"Huh," said Taiga. "So what is that thing, then?"

"It's yours," he said. "I mean- it's your white day gift. And your lucky item."

"...my lucky item is a gingerbread house?" said Taiga.

"Yes," said Midorima.

"Huh," she said, and took it from him, adding to the weight of all the gifts she already carried. "Er, thanks."

"It's my return gift," said Midorima, not looking at her again. "For White Day. That's it," he said. "That was all I- you'd better remind to thank Ootsubo appropriately for his thoughtfulness. Goodbye."

"Hey," she called after him. "I forgot your scarf!"

Midorima coloured right up to his ears. "It- it doesn't matter!" he said.

"It does!" she yelled at him. "I- look, next week! I'll meet you on Sunday! You- you'd _better_ be there, alright?"

He would never know what precisely posessed him, but Midorima turned his head back and shouted, "Fine!"

("One day when I'm lying on my deathbed," said Aomine, "My life is going to flash before my eyes, and it's going to be an endless parade of 'who are these idiots and what am I doing here', and I'm going to die full of regrets."

"Nobody forced you to come," said Momoi. Kuroko faded in and out of visibility behind a neighbouring hedge.)


End file.
